Arrived safely in Chengdu around 5.30 am this morning. I had to say a little about my cabin mates on the train. I shared with 3 Chinese men and as usual there was no conversation. I once again ended up with the top bunk which is pain! Anyway after about 4 hours or so the chap on the top bunk adjacent opened up a bag he had some fruit in and out of the blue offered me an apple. I didnt quite know what to day or do but gratefully accepted it and said thank you in Mandarin (which is about 1 of 3 words I know!). I then jumped down later to try and get view from the train which was wonderful as we went through a very mountainous area. I then sat down with 3 of them in the lower bunks and began eating my apple. When I finished I gestured that it was lovely and thanked the chap again. Then all of a sudden chap number 2 offered me a Pomegranite and wouldnt take no for answer. As I clearly had some difficulty in opening it Chap number 3 got out a blade and assisted. All they while they were eating nuts and drinking some booze and now and then would offer me more stuff to eat. It was so very kind of them and as they chattered amongst themselves I got the impression they were doing their best to involve me. Not knowing really how to communicate I grabbed my bottle of beer and held it up to them and said Cheers in Mandarin which they understood and in turn toasted. It was all very amusing. I then grabbed my Guidebook that has some phrases in the back and somehow we managed to converse. I dont think they could get their head around how I lived in England rather than India (the thought I was a hindu) but it was nice killing an hour or so trying to explain - with or without the phrasebook ;-). By the end of the journey they had become my NBF's (new best friends) and were giving me their numbers telling me to call them to go out for dinner with their families and they were also calling their friends who spoke English from their mobiles just to speak to me - it was all very friendly and bought a smile to my face. Had I been travelling with someone else I would have loved to have hooked up with them again but being a sole female traveller, sadly I wont which is a shame.
Thats enough of my train journey - think I am going to spend quite some time in Chengdue as there seems to be quite a lot to do. As well as seeing Pandas and the biggest Bhudda in the world the hostel has tours to Songpan to go on 3 day horse treks - sounds very interesting and I think I will look into it
Right gotta go now as I am just about to have lunch with a lovely Ozzie couple who have just arrived (who I met on the Great Wall and again in Xi'an) and who have very kindly said I cld tag along with them
Thats all folks
Ten4
PS KC (from work) glad you are enjoying.x
